Bookmarker



Jan; 13, 1942. 1.. WEGLEIN. Jfi

BOOKMARKER Filed March '7, 1941 INVENTOR l r-u WEGLEIN,JR. I a4?- mm ATTORN Y Patented Jan. 13, 1942 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The object of the invention is to provide improvements in book markers, and particularly in the flexible, transparent type.

Another and more specific object is to provide a book marker, comprising a plurality (usually a pair) of strips of flexible sheet material such as a synthetic resin, secured together at one end and separable throughout a major portion of their common extent, so as to permit the insertion of one or more sheets of paper or other thin objects between them.

A further object is to provide a marker of this type, which is transversely curved, so as to increase the friction between such marker and the page or pages of a book or the like, to resist unintentional relative longitudinal and transverse movement between marker and book.

With the objects as thus described, the invention comprises further details which are hereinafter fully brought out in the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the longer element of a marker pair; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the shorter element of such a pair; Fig. 3 is a side or edge elevation of the verse curvature has been imparted to it; Fig. 6

is a left end elevation of the same; Fig. '7 is a right end elevation of the same; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a book equipped with two of said markers; and Fig. 9 is an end elevation of the book and markers, showing two ways in which the markers are employed in turning the books pages.

Referring to the drawing, one embodiment of the invention is shown as comprising a relatively long, narrow, flexible and preferably transparent strip of material I, having rounded ends 2 and 3, while upon one end portion it carries a numeral 4, which is here represented by 113' There is also provided a second and preferably somewhat shorter strip of similar material, the ends 6 and I of which are rounded to correspond with the ends of the first-mentioned strip. While the numeral 4 is shown upon the strip l before one end portion of their adjacent surfaces, as indicated at 8, and are immediately placed in a suitably shaped heated clamp, where they are secured firmly together and at the same time are given a transverse curvature. As the united end portions become in effect an integral unit of a thickness, double that of either of the elements when considered individually, this cemented end portion retains permanently the curvature thus imparted to it, while the relatively independent opposite end portions of said strips retain some of such curvature, but tend to flatten out, as they progress towards their respective opposite free ends, but in any case remain permanently curved to a substantial degree throughout their entire lengths. This is indicated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

In the manufacture of these markers, it is essential that heat be applied to them while they are initially curved transversely. However, after they have assumed the desired curvature under the influence of such combined heat and pressure, they are removed from such heated clamp and transferred to a second clamp, in which the desired curvature is maintained while they cool and the cement sets. Thus, after a short time in said second clamp, they may be removed and used indefinitely without losing their transversely curved shape, while the independent end portions of the two elements are capable of being separated divergently at will, in order to receive between them the marginal portion of the leaves or pages of a book, or whatever other thin objects may be desired. In order to produce a condition of increased, in fact, maximum friction between the marker and an object inserted between its elements, after the heat and pressure have been applied and the cement has largely but not entirely set, a thin, curved or curvable tool, such as a razor blade, may be inserted between the said elements until said tool effects a breaking of the cement bond for a very slight distance, after which the tool is quickly withdrawn and permanent setting of the cement continued as above described. Accordingly, in the final form of the marker, the innermost limit of the severance of space between the two elements may be characterized by roughened portions of the opposite surfaces, between which the edge of a book page or the like in practice is wedged. thereby substantially increasing or supplementing the friction which would otherwise obtain between marker and page.

By referring to Figs. 8 and 9, it will be seen that the marker is applied to the pages of a book in the usual manner, but due to its transverse curvature each such marker when operatively applied thereto resists accidental lipping or dislodgement laterally of its longitudinal axis, as the fact of its curvature results in an increase in the frictional engagement of the marker with the book page, over what would be the case were the marker flat. Furthermore, while a page to which the marker is attached can be lifted for turning by raising the outwardly extending, in dicia-bearing end, as shown upon the right hand side of Fig. 9, one or more pages above and resting upon such marker-engaged page can be lifted for turning, by bearing downwardly upon the protruding end of a lower marker, as indicated upon the left hand side of Fig. 9, especially if the longer element of such marker is upon the under side. In fact, in that case the marker is actually angularly rotated about the upper edge of the nether pages as a fulcrum.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A book marker, comprising a pair of thin independently flexible elements of transparent material lying closely adjacent to each other and having end portion secured together, to provide independently extending portions between which a thin object is adapted to be inserted, said secured end portions normally extending freely beyond the limits of such object, said elements being transversely curved about the same radius at their secured ends and progressively relatively flatter and consequently increasingly flexible towards their separable ends, to increase frictional engagement with such object as the object approaches the united ends of said elements.

2. A book marker, comprising a pair of thin flexible elements lying closely adjacent to each other and having one end portion of each element secured to the other, to provide normally parallel, resiliently separable opposite end portions adapted to receive a thin object between them, said elements being transversely curved, suchcurvature being greater at the secured end and lessening gradually towards the separable end portions of said elements, to minimize initial resistance to the insertion of such thin object and increase the friction and resulting resistance against both lateral and longitudinal relative shifting, as such object approaches the united ends of said elements.

LOUIS WEGLEIN. JR. 

